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Pollutants That Cause Cancer

Pollutants with the potential to cause cancer come from a variety of sources. Air pollutants include carbon monoxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), mercury, lead, methane and many more. In addition to the air, pollutants can come from water, chemicals in food and other sources, and radiation. Overcooked food has also been implicated as a potential source of carcinogen for humans.

  1. Air Pollutants

    • Photochemical smog (a mixture of VOCs, nitrogen oxides and sunlight) present in large metropolitan cities can cause cancer. In a study by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. population has a cancer incidence rate of 36 per 1 million residents. In some suburbs of Los Angeles, which are surrounded by freeways, up to 1,200 per 1 million residents, or 34 times the national average, have a risk of getting cancer. Los Angeles County as a whole, however, only showed a rate of 63 per 1 million residents, or about twice the national average. However you look at the data, living near a freeway or other industrial areas greatly increases the risk of cancer from smog pollutants. In this study, diesel exhaust was delineated from regular gasoline car exhaust as the major source of the pollution.

    Water Pollutants

    • Pollutants in the water can pose a cancer risk as well. One of the most publicized cases of cancer-causing pollutants of all time involved hexavalent chromium (chromium 6) in a water supply. Leather tanning, chrome plating and wood preserving represent just a few of the industries in which chromium 6 pollution can occur as a byproduct. Chromium 6 is recognized as a major human and animal carcinogen. Increases in lung and stomach cancers occur in those exposed to chromium 6. Many other chemical pollutants in water increase the risk of cancer, including bromate, dichloroethylene, vinyl chloride and tetrachloroethylene.

    Food Pollutants

    • According to the National Cancer Institute, heterocyclic amines form when creatine and amino acids from meat combine at the high temperatures of cooking. The NCI study showed people who ate beef four or more times per week had twice the risk of getting stomach cancer as those who didn't consume this amount of beef, due to heterocyclic amines. The most important aspect to remember about this study is that the results are tied to cooking temperature and time. Rare beef does not pose the same risk of cancer from heterocyclic amines.

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